Keonjhar, Apr 17: After serving 25 years in prison, Mahendra Hembram, one of the convicts in the infamous Graham Staines murder case, has been released from jail in Odisha.

Hembram, now 50, was convicted alongside Dara Singh for the brutal killing of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two minor sons, Timothy and Philip, in 1999. The incident, which involved burning the victims alive in their vehicle, sparked widespread outrage both nationally and internationally.

Hembram's release was granted on the grounds of good behaviour during his incarceration, as per the recommendations of the Odisha State Sentence Review Board. Jail authorities bid him farewell with a garland and handed over a bank passbook containing his earnings from prison labour.

Upon his release, Hembram reiterated his claim of innocence, stating that he was falsely implicated due to his opposition to religious conversions and cow slaughter.

“I had no involvement in that incident. I was falsely accused due to my opposition to illegal religious conversions and cow slaughter,” claimed Hembram. “At that time, the Congress government at the Centre and the then BJD government in Odisha collaborated, leading me to endure 25 years of imprisonment instead of being released in 14 years,” he added.

“Even when the honourable court directed to submit reports, the then state government deliberately suppressed the file,” alleged Hembram.

The case remains one of the most controversial and gruesome crimes in India's history, highlighting tensions over religious conversions.

While Hembram has been released, the focus now shifts to Dara Singh, the main conspirator, whose remission plea is under review by the Odisha government following a directive from the Supreme Court.

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